SGA to spend $1,598 on charging stations for students

Kaely Holloway

WKU Libraries and the Student Government Association are teaming up to bring five “KwikBoost” cellphone and laptop charging stations to campus.

These stations are equipped with eight attachments to charge a variety of smartphones, tablets and laptops.

Keyana Boka, SGA president, said Connie Foster, dean of university libraries, came to her with the idea.

“…And I’ve seen a lot of other universities do this on their campus,” Boka said.

WKU is already equipped with one charging station, located in Potter Hall. Should all go according to plan, the three new stations would be located in the Educational Resources Center, Helm 100 and Helm 2.

The fourth would be located on the Glasgow campus, and the fifth on the Owensboro campus.

“They will be in all key library locations, and we’ll see how students respond,” Foster said.

Student reaction will determine whether the libraries decide to order more stations.

SGA would fund the prospective stations on Glasgow campus and in Helm 2, leaving the other three to be funded by WKU Libraries.

“The areas that we’ve designated that we’re going to be putting them in don’t have a lot of outlets for plugs, so it’s especially convenient for students studying in those areas,” Boka said.

The stations cost $799 each, and come to a total of $1,598, which would be allocated from senate discretionary funding. A bill regarding this cost went into first read at Tuesday night’s SGA meeting.

“I think it will increase our visibility,” Boka said.

If all is approved, Foster said the stations should go up as early as the beginning of next semester, if not two to four weeks after placing the order. The WKU Libraries and SGA are working to get all money and sponsorships organized to place the order this semester.